A Special Day
by Sydella
Summary: A birthday fic for everyone's favourite angry Varia boss.


Xanxus disliked celebrating his birthday.

It wasn't that he felt old. He just wasn't fond of special occasions, period. Christmas, New Year, Valentine's Day, you name it, it flew right over his head. The only thing he liked about his birthday was, of course, the fact that it was the tenth day of the tenth month. Perfect for an erstwhile candidate for the position of Vongola Decimo. However, he had convinced himself that nothing would ever change his mind about birthdays and all the useless, unnecessary celebrations they warranted.

This year was no different. On the tenth of October, Xanxus awoke from a refreshing slumber, remembered that it was his birthday, and promptly retreated under his thick covers. His followers were perfectly capable of managing without him for one day. There was no need for him to face the world today.

He was drifting off to sleep again when a sudden crash from another part of the Varia's headquarters took him by surprise. The unmistakable sound of Squalo's voice reached his ears. Xanxus thought he heard Squalo yell something that sounded like "What do you think you're doing?" but from this distance, even a voice as loud as Squalo's sounded indistinct. Sighing, Xanxus pulled a pillow over his head and counted sheep. When that didn't work, he counted the assassination targets on his hit list. Instantly, he felt better and began to dream about guns-

BANG! Another crash, followed by a cacophony of male voices. Xanxus contemplated leaving his room just so he could see what the hell was going on, but a rare impulse to be generous and reluctance to leave his comfortable bed overcame him. With the calm determination of a veteran mafioso, he used various pillows and cushions to construct a fortress around himself. Retreating under his covers again, he was determined to ignore the din his followers were causing. His plan would have succeeded if his bedroom door hadn't been blown off its hinges. Levi toppled through the doorway seconds later and landed face down. Xanxus leapt out of bed, grabbed a gun from his desk and pointed it at Levi.

"B-boss!" Levi shrieked. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"Move it!" Squalo snapped, materialising as if out of nowhere. He delivered a swift kick to Levi's behind, and without preamble, strode into the room. "Boss, we have made preparations for your birthday." The swordsman's tone was as cool and brisk as that of an army commander readying his troops for war.

Xanxus glared suspiciously at his second-in-command, but lowered his gun. "What do you mean, _preparations_?"

Squalo cleared his throat, looking embarrassed. "Well, that is to say…we've decided to throw a party for you."

"A party?" Xanxus blinked.

"That's right." Squalo sighed. "Unfortunately, the oven exploded when Lussuria tried to bake a cake, Belphegor and Levi got into a fight that partially destroyed the left wing of our house and Mammon is hysterical after calculating the amount of money we'll have to pay for repairs. So um, yeah. Happy birthday."

Xanxus raised his gun again and shot Levi, then grabbed the nearest heavy object he could find and hurled it at Squalo. After a lengthy and heated argument, Levi unsteadily rose to his feet and tottered away to seek medical treatment from Lussuria. Squalo efficiently cleaned up the mess Xanxus had created, muttering under his breath.

"So this is what we get for trying to behave like decent human beings," Squalo grumbled as he finished cleaning.

"Actually, I don't mind." Xanxus tried not to smile at the incredulous look his second-in-command gave him. "Do better next year, that's all I ask."

Squalo turned to leave. "I never thought I'd say this, but sometimes you're a little too optimistic."

Exactly one year later, the Varia went on a highly dangerous mission and sustained moderate injuries. During their brief stay at a hospital, Belphegor got into another fight with Levi, Squalo yelled at every doctor who tried to treat him, Lussuria stared at the ceiling while muttering unintelligible nonsense and Mammon had to go for therapy after seeing their hospital bills. And Xanxus?

He nursed a drink and wondered why he didn't feel angry. Maybe, just maybe, he had mellowed with age. There might be something to this birthday thing after all.


End file.
